In a recent New York Times video segment, Core Values, and related article, Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back?, the value of doing crunches and sit ups is brought into question. This has spurred some internet debate from fitness professionals.

 

In my opinion, with someone that has a healthy back, there is benefit to doing crunches and sit ups when done correctly, but they are not the most functional abdominal exercises. (By functional, I mean that the action in an exercise is very similar to the way we use that muscle group in life.) In life our abdominals are used more for bracing or pulling in like a girdle and resisting movement than they are for doing the crunching action. In "Core Values" you can see that the training is about preventing movement against resistance. This allows for greater transmission of forces (in pulling, pushing, throwing  movements) and helps to restrict uneven pressure on the disks in the spine. This is what makes this kind of training more functional than crunches. Abdominal bracing is also an important part of our ability to hold correct posture.

 

To know more and/or learn some bracing exercises that are right for your level, see one of our Personal Trainers.